The Day
by RunningWords
Summary: The day Kiba set his heart on the Blonde Beauty. Yamanaka Ino. Will he efforts be met with rewards, or will they be in vain?


Kiba stood eager to hear the blondes response. He had figured there was a 50/50 chance of a yes or no. She seemed to be thinking it over before she answered. He figured this was good for him, she hadn't shot him down right away. At least she was thinking it over a bit first.

"No." she said sternly, placing her hands on her hips. Almost as if she was scolding a child.

He smirked. "I figured." he said mounting Akamaru. _"Half figured." _his mind corrected. "But, I'm not giving up that easily." he stated as a matter of fact.

"Good, I won't give in that easily either." Ino hissed.

"We'll see." he replied before he and Akamaru darted off down the road. He had already set his mind to going on a date with Yamanaka Ino. It would only be a matter of time until she agreed to go out with him. If he had to annoy her into submission he would.

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Kiba 'happened to notice' a routine around the Yamanaka Flower Shop. They would water the flowers in the early morning before the sun came up. He assumed it was because plants often burned if watered in midday. Some planter boxes outside the shop was his target. He woke up early for three mornings until he finally saw the opportunity he needed.

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Ino rolled out of bed in her PJ's. Her father was out of town on a mission. Her mom needed 'beauty sleep' like she didn't? Still, since her mom would watch the shop today she couldn't complain that she had to get up just to water the flowers. She whipped from drool from her face and pulled her hair into a messy bun. Sleepily she dragged her feet into the shop turning on the water system, watering plants that wouldn't automatically be watered. She headed to the front door with a watering can.

She opened the door and looked into the cold morning darkness. She glanced left, right _"Clear!." _she rushed out and started to water the potted plants in front of the store as quickly as she could. it was so cold she decided to tiptoe in place to keep warm as she poured water onto the plants carefully. She was shocked when she felt someone standing behind her.

"You look like you have to pee." She turned to see Kiba sitting atop Akamaru, with a huge smirk on his face.

She let out a squeak and threw the water can at Kibas head missing, of course. _"Darn it!" _she shot a glare deep into his eyes. "Kiba what are you doing here?" she asked, ignoring him 'pee remark.'

"I heard in the mornings a zombie can be seen outside the Yamanaka Flower Shop. I had to come see it for myself." He replied. Ino let out another sound of displeasure and ran back inside. She could hear him laughing as she ran through the shop. She would kill him for this later.

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Ino was so furious she couldn't fall back asleep. She used the opportunity to get ready for the day early. It was only then that she saw herself in my mirror. SHOCK. _"He saw me like THIS!?" _she was horrified. Never in her right mind would she ever want ANYONE to see her looking like THIS. She took a shower, decided on wardrobe choices. Fixing her hair and makeup and ate a small breakfast.

Ino left out the backdoor of her home. Not wanting to have another unpleasant experience so early in the morning. That day she didnt see Kiba again, she'd almost forgotten all about him. Until the day was nearing its end and she found herself nearing her home. Without thinking about it she darted to the back of her house. _"Kiba avoided." _she told herself with a smile. Until she stopped in her tracks. Their on her back step was the watering can. That night she found it hard to sleep with just a nuisance on her mind.

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Each morning as Ino walked out her front door she half expected to see Kiba. She felt slightly disappointed when she would learn she was wrong. _"Not giving up that easily." _she mocked the words he had said to her. _"Yea right." _she closed the door behind her and turned around. Her eyes widened and her heart raced a bit faster. "Good morning." she said dryly.

Kiba smiled in response. "Where are we going today?" he asked.

"We?" she asked as she started to walk, continuing on with her day. He followed next to her on Akamaru's back.

"Shopping?" he asked. Ino stopped walking and shot him a glare. He reached down and grabbed her hand pulling her up onto Akamaru's back with him.

"Hey~!" she whined, but not attempting to resist or slide off. She wondered how much dog fur would come off onto her closes. Akamaru started to move and she felt extremely off balanced. _"How does he do this?!" _she quickly wrapped her arms around Kiba. She could already see him looking over his shoulder at her with a stupid smirk on his face.

He let her off at a popular shopping distract. How he knew she liked to shop in his area was beyond her. Maybe he was more up to date on fashion then she knew. "We'll be back later." he said. When she turned around they were gone.

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Ino had shopped her heart out. Every time she went into a new store she would check outside to see if Kiba had returned. She was not really sure why she cared. She just left the last store when she saw Kiba nearby waiting for her. "Your late." she said.

"You make it sound like I am your boyfriend already." he replied. He noticed her red her cheeks became and decided not to push her further on the subject.

"Where have you been." she asked in a demanding tone.

"What you think you're the only girl I'm pursuing?" he joked. She didn't seem to find it to funny. He reached for her wrist as she turned to storm off. "I'm only kidding." he said in a whisper. She seemed to 'accept his apology.' he took a couple bags and placed the handles in Akamaru's mouth. Then holding a bag in each hand, Ino held the last in hers.

They walked back to her house silently, Kiba was going to make some remark, but Ino suddenly pulled him into a hug. "Thanks." she said simply then going inside with all her bags.

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A few days past and Ino didn't see Kiba once. This time she didn't wonder if he gave up. Only perhaps he was sent on a mission or something of the sort. Although she didn't have the best feeling toady. Maybe that was just because she had to 'man the flower shop' today. She enjoyed sales, the talking about the flowers and their various meanings. Helping to bring smiles to people's faces.

Only a couple hours before closing Hinata showed up with a soft smile. "Hello Ino." she said. Ino helped Hinata pick out a flower best suited for a friend in the hospital. She didn't think much of it until Hinata said, "Kiba will like this one."

Ino's eyes widened a bit. "K-Kiba?" Hinata explained the full situation to her. It was nothing major, Kiba was just on bed rest for a few more days. Ino closed the shop a bit early, she found herself in a . restaurant ordering food. More food then she alone would ever eat. Her feet moved her until she found herself at Kibas bed side. "I brought you food."

"Are you stalking me Miss Yamanaka?" Kiba teased.

"Here Akamaru." Ino said holding our a plate of food towards the dog. He wagged his tail in response but did not approach.

"Wait." Kiba said. "I want it." he set himself up and Ino handed him the plate.

"But I did bring something for you Akamaru." Ino said pulling out a box of beef. He approached and happily ate all the food and licked the box clean. Kiba had often thought of Ino as selfish. Today he was able to see her 'soft side.'

_"Kindness." _he muttered with a grin.

"Hmm?" she asked, eyeballing him. "Eat your food." she demanded.

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When Kiba left the hospital he felt good as new, maybe even better. He had spent effort to slowly win Ino over, and had finally made an effort to return the favor. He waited for her outside the flower shop. "Are you busy today?" he asked. Once again Kiba found himself standing in front of Ino waiting for a answer. Only this time he hoped she would say no.

"I'm not." she replied.

"Want to go to lunch?"

"Lunch, It's not a date." she agreed.

Kiba more easily was able to see how Ino ate so selectively. How her eyes sized up every women in the room. To see how she compared to each. He wondered why a women would put themselves in that spot. " You smell-" he stopped himself slightly. Maybe talking about this would be to creepy.

"HMM?!" she said swiftly switching her attention to him.

"Like dirt." he said, almost waiting to be smacked across the face. Her hand did most swiftly, only to her own face covering her mouth. She laughed more freely then he had ever known her to before. _"She took that oddly well." _

"Oh and here all along, I thought I smelled like gardenias." A smile crossed her face. "I should sue that perfume company."

"beneath that." he said turning slightly red.

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Kiba and Akamaru were wondering the streets for a place to spot and eat. "_Nothing sounds good." _or maybe nothing sounded good without Ino. He had not seen her for a few days, but it was to late in the day to go drag her out to eat. She refused to eat dinner with him anyway. He huffed at the thought. Akamaru suddenly stopped in his tracks, almost causing Kiba to lose his balance. "What's wrong boy?" he asked glancing around.

Akamaru whined in response, moving his tail left and right slowly. Kiba sniffed the air, _"It smells like Ino is around here." _then he heard her laugh. Before he could think about it he had jumped off Akamaru and walked into a restaurant. He spotted her right away, her long blonde hair. He wanted to approach her but he noticed someone sitting across from her. _"Sai." _he hissed turning to leave.

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The next morning he found Ino nice and early. "Do you have plans today?" he asked.

"I do, sorry Kiba." she saw a hurt look across his face. "but, I can do breakfast." she said quickly. It felt good to be close to her again. He didn't want her to leave, but he noticed her keeping an eye on the clock. They ate rather quickly, the drank the rest of her water. "I have to go now." she smiled at him but he did not return it. "I'll see you again soon." it seemed to be a promise. He wanted to follow her, but he had to stop himself.

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Ino rolled up a piece of canvas and put a rubber band around it. _"I haven't seen Kiba for a while, I wonder if he's avoiding me." _she tossed the rolled gift onto her bed. Today she would track him down that would be her goal. She had a bit of trouble tracking him down, and resorted to asking Hinata if she knew his ware bouts. It turned out Kiba was training in a different area then they normally used. Once she knew of his location he was not hard to find.

Ino watched from a distance before she approached. She was sure he had smelled her on her way in but he seemed really into his 'work out.' His movements seemed powered by anger and were very fierce in nature. "Kiba." She said with a happy smile and a wave. His body seemed to lose all its tension as she got closer. "I've been looking for you."

_"Oh yea?" _he rolled his eyes, none believing.

"Is something wrong, Kiba?" she reached out and touched the sleeve of his jacket.

He turned to look into her eyes. How could he stay mad. He returned her smile. "Nothing's wrong."

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Kiba couldn't help but wonder about how things were progressing. Or lack of progression. Was Ino seeing other guys. He couldn't just come out and ask her. It would sound to much like a jealous boyfriend. He was not, _"repeat, I'm not her boyfriend." _he reminded himself.

He met Ino that day for lunch and things seemed to be back to their 'new normal.' That was until they walked outside and Sai walked up. Kiba felt his body tense up and they greeted each other happily. He almost felt invisible observing his own nightmare.

"Kiba?" Ino's voice chimed in. He eyes moved to hers but his body still was like a statue. Suddenly his heart almost stopped as he felt her hand slide into his. She smiled at him and he melted for her, he took her hand softly in his. Ino thanked Sai for something, and Sai continued no his way. ino squeezed his hand slightly. "I wanted to show you something."

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He found himself standing in Ino's room, a girl's room. He couldn't lie some un savory thoughts had some to mind as Ino walked to her bed and picked something up. "It's not very good." she said unrolling the canvas. He looked at it and a smile crossed his face. He could recognize this object anywhere.

"What is it?" he asked, with a grin.

"Really?" she asked looking at it herself. "It's not THAT bad is it?" On the canvas was a simply drawn, Watering Can sitting in the grass. "Sai said it looked fine." she said with a frown.

"Yamanaka Ino, Will you go on a date with me?" he said, shocking her.

"Y-Yes." she managed to get out.

"Good." he said.

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Yamanaka Ino knew about boys, they liked 'the chase.' Once the chase was over they lose interest. Normally she didn't mind just letting boys chance it. The issue is when you become emotionally attached to someone who is chasing. Never before did she let a pursuer give her a flicker of feeling. That was until Kiba. It was better to let him hurt her now, then later.

Ino was pleased with Kiba's dates, and she continued to accept them. He seemed to know what girls wanted and liked. Or at least what she wanted. He made efforts to make each date a little special different from the other. Each was like a new experience, still she wondered how long he would keep this up.

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It has been 7 months since he'd seen zombie Ino in her front yard. Four months since they began dating. Today was the morning of September the 23. Ino's birthday. He had convinced Ino's parents to do a birthday lunch so he could do something special for her dinner. He blind folded her and put her on Akamru's back. "No peaking." he said pinching her arm lightly.

"Okay, Okay, I Promise." She had learned to keep her balance on Akamaru with little issues now. The dog walked her into the forest the trail seemed uneven terrain. She could feel the weather starting to cool for the night. It was shortly after she heard the distinct sound of a waterfall. Kiba must of already been on site because he came over and helped her off Akamaru's back.

Kina untried her blindfold but she kept her eyes closed. "It's okay, you can open them now." he said.

They were standing in a clearing in the forest in front of a waterfall, flowers on the floor all around them. She had seen the place before in pictures but she had never been up here to see it with her own eyes. "It's beautiful." there was a blanket laid out and a basket of what she assumed was food. They ate and watched the sunset.

Kiba lit some candle lanterns so they weren't totally in the dark. Ino leaned up against Akamaru's side for warmth. He pulled another blanket from the basket and took a set learned up against Akamaru next to Ino. Covering themselves with the blanket, the sky darkened and the stars raised. After some time Akamaru seemed to excuse himself and they laid there looking up at the stars.

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Kiba did not really think himself the romantic type. Something in this lovely girl brought it out of him. He pulled her into a embrace and kissed her forehead. She placed her hands on his cheek and lowered his mouth to meet hers. He pulled away from her to speak, she just smiled at him.

"You make the best birthday gift ever." she whispered.

He was a little caught off guard. "I'm not some piece of meat, you can own." he joked. "I got you this." he said pulling out a little silver ring. Only a promise ring, but still. He felt a bit worried how she would react. Rather well to his surprise, she held up her hand. He slid the ring on her finger and it seemed to fit rather nicely. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they kissed again. "Ino, I love you, and-" Kiba said in breath for air.

" I love you too, Kiba." she cut him off with a smile. "Now shut up and kiss me."

"So bossy," he said with a smirk.

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**She knew from then on, her heart was his to break.**

**And he, had no desire to ever break it.**


End file.
